PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have reported to training camp at St. John Fisher College, with meetings and conditioning scheduled for Thursday.
In the mean time, let's go over -- one last time -- what to watch when the offense takes the field for Friday's practice.
Quarterbacks: How are the Bills dividing first-team reps between their quarterbacks? During organized team activities and minicamp, the Bills divided those reps fairly equally between EJ Manuel, Matt Cassel and Tyrod Taylor when there was a single 11-on-11 drill being conducted. When they went into their "two-spot drill" -- two simultaneous 11-on-11 drills -- two of those quarterbacks would stick with the "first team" group and another would join Matt Simms with the second- and third-team group. Which two stuck with the first team would rotate between practices. At least to start training camp, I wouldn't be surprised if the Bills continued with that approach.
Running backs: When the Bills went into their "two-spot" drill during OTAs and minicamp, three running backs stuck with the first-team group: LeSean McCoy, Fred Jackson and Boobie Dixon. The other two -- Bryce Brown and Karlos Williams -- joined the less experienced players. I would also expect that to continue into training camp. I'll be looking for how the Bills manage the workload of McCoy (who could receive 300 or more carries this season) and Jackson (who is 34).
Wide receivers: Percy Harvin missed parts of OTAs for non-injury reasons and Sammy Watkins was held out of team drills for almost the entirety of spring practices, so we never got a strong gauge on how the Bills' top receiver grouping would shake out. If Watkins is "full go," as he said Tuesday that he would be, then I would expect him to get his fair share of 11-on-11 reps. But will it be Harvin or Robert Woods across the field from him in two-receiver sets? And does Chris Hogan sneak into the mix in three-receiver sets, or is it strictly Watkins, Harvin and Woods? I'm also intrigued to see more of Dez Lewis, who sat out a portion of spring practices with a leg injury. Marquise Goodwin, who took part in long jump events during his summer break, enters camp on the roster bubble.
Tight ends: We know Charles Clay is the top player here, but who's next? I'll be looking to see who the Bills use in two-tight end groupings. Is it MarQueis Gray? Chris Gragg? Nick O'Leary? Matthew Mulligan? Clay Burton? My expectation is that the Bills will mix-and-match here and we won't have a definitive answer right away.
Offensive line: The obvious place to start is at coach, where the Bills (as of Thursday morning) have yet to announce who will coach the offensive line in Aaron Kromer's place. Assuming assistant offensive line coach Kurt Anderson takes the reins, I'm curious to see how much time, if any, offensive coordinator Greg Roman spends with that group, or if there is another offensive coach who helps out that unit. From a personnel standpoint, I'll be looking to see who lines up at first-team right tackle. Is it still Cyrus Kouandjio, or will Seantrel Henderson be given another chance to lock down the starting job? The Bills are thin here -- they have 13 offensive linemen on the roster and only six with measurable NFL experience -- so there could be a late signing before camp begins Friday. The team has two open roster spots and had veteran free-agent tackle Gosder Cherilus in for a visit Wednesday.